Doc Rivers steaming mad over replay call at end of Thunder's Game 5 win

But the referees didn’t call a foul against Barnes, the Clippers forward. And the ball seemed to last touch Jackson, the Oklahoma City Thunder guard, before caroming out of bounds with 11.3 seconds left in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals series.

So here’s the issue for Rivers: He feels that the replay system should have awarded his team possession with a two-point lead. The replay system cannot be used for foul calls, so the only thing to be reviewed was who touched the ball last. The initial call was that the Clippers did, but Rivers says the replay shows different.

Now, here’s what Rivers after Russell Westbrook’s three free throws on the ensuing possession gave the Thunder a 105-104 victory and 3-2 series lead:

“In my opinion, let’s take away replay. Let’s take away the replay system. Because that’s our ball. We win the game. And we got robbed because of that call. And it’s clear. Everybody in the arena saw it. That’s why everybody was shocked when they said Oklahoma City ball. Whether it was a foul or not — it was, but they didn’t call it.”

That alone is enough to draw a $25,000 fine. But Rivers didn’t stop there.

“We did a lot of stuff to lose the game ourselves. But at the end of the day, we have a replay system that you’re supposed to look at. And I don’t want to hear that they didn’t have that replay. That’s a bunch of crap. … We’ve got two more games to play, but that could be a series-defining call. And that’s not right.”

So is he right? Take a look for yourself:

Thunder coach Scott Brooks was not willing to concede.

“I did see it. I saw four or five replays. One of the things I know, Reggie did get fouled. The ball, I couldn’t tell who the ball was hit off. One of the things, they have replay systems. Referees. If it’s non-conclusive, they have to go with what they called. I couldn’t tell on my replays. Maybe they have different replays than we have. But on the four or five that we have, I could not tell who hit the ball out.”

Crew chief Tony Brothers offered an interesting explanation to the pool reporter after the game, though.

“When the ball goes out of bounds, the ball was awarded to Oklahoma City. We go review the play. We saw two replays. The two replays we saw were from the overhead camera showing down, and the one from under the basket showing the same angle but from a different view. And from those two replays, it was inconclusive as to who the ball went out of bounds off of. When it’s inconclusive, we have to go with the call that was on the floor.”

That essentially means the refs didn’t have all the camera angles fans at home did, which seems puzzling. But it does perhaps explain why they stuck with the call, while also lending credibility to Rivers’ suggestion of ending replay review.

So now what? The NBA may release a statement from Rod Thorn, the president of basketball operations, on the call. (There were a few that could warrant such treatment in this game.) But the guarantee is a standard foul for Rivers, even with his honorable role in helping the NBA through the Donald Sterling saga.

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